V.D. SARVAKAR - HISTORY
News: The political project of the Savarkarite international
What's in the news?
● For
the longest time in independent India, the works of V. D. Savarkar had a
limited following, restricted to the Hindutva ecosystem.
● The ideas of a man charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi were unlikely to get mainstream attention without a dramatic change in the political and cultural climate.
Key takeaways:
● Central
to Savarkarite history, as also to Hindutva, is the idea of South Asia as the
ancient homeland of the Hindus, named Bharat.
● As
expounded in Savarkar’s last work, ‘Six
Glorious Epochs of Indian History’ (SGE), the history of ‘Bharat’ is
essentially a history of the Hindus' martial triumphs over a series of foreign
aggressors.
● Violence and warfare is central to Sarvakar’s conception of Indian/Hindu history, and the ‘six glorious epochs’ refer to Hindu military victories over six foreign invaders: the Greeks, the Sakas, the Kushans, the Huns, the Muslims and the Christians (the British).
V.D.Sarvakar:
● Vinayak
Damodar was an activist for Indian independence, politician, lawyer, and
journalist. Though he referred to his brand of 'Hindutva' as cultural rather than geographical India, many
historians attribute a communal bent to this.
● Vinayak
Savarkar was born in Bhagur, Maharashtra, on the 28th of May 1883 to Damodar
and Radhabai Savarkar.
● Fergusson
College, Pune, was his place of study. Bal
Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Bipin Chandra Pal were some of the
leaders who influenced him. Protests against Bengal's partition and the
Swadeshi movement also had an impact on him.
● He
was a firm believer in patriotism
and was drawn to radical ideologies and movements.
● Savarkar moved to England to study law after completing his degree. He lived in England at India House, a hotbed of nationalists and political activists.
Participation in Independence movement:
● Veer
Savarkar left for London to study law in June 1906. Once in London, however, he
rallied and inflamed Indian students in the United Kingdom against British rule
in India. He founded the Free India
Society to unite students in a revolution to gain India's independence.
● During
this time, he wrote a book called "Indian
War of Independence 1857," in which he described the 1857 Indian Revolt and criticized
British rule as unjust and oppressive. He was among the first to refer to the uprising as India's "first war of
independence." In India, this book was outlawed, but it was secretly
published and distributed.
● Savarkar
established the "Abhinav Bharat
Society" in Pune.
● He
was also a member of the Swadeshi
movement before joining Tilak's Swaraj Party. The British government was
enraged by his patriotic speeches and activities. As a result, his B.A. degree
was revoked by the British government.
● Involved in the formation of Hindu Mahasabha. He was the president of Hindu Mahasabha from 1937 to 1943.
Trial and Sentences:
● Arrested
in 1909 on charges of plotting an armed revolt against the Morley-Minto reform
(Indian Councils Act 1909).
● Arrested
in 1910 for his connections with the revolutionary group India House.
● One
of the charges on Savarkar was abetment to murder
of Nashik Collector Jackson and the second was waging a conspiracy under
Indian penal code 121-A against the King emperor.
● Following
the two trials, Savarkar was convicted and sentenced to 50-years imprisonment
also known as Kala Pani and
transported in 1911 to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
● He
was not considered by the British government as a political prisoner.
● He died on 26th February 1966 due to fasting on his own wish of death.
Abhinav Bharat Society (Young India Society):
● It
was a secret society founded by
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Damodar Savarkar in 1904.
● Initially founded at Nasik as MitraMela, the society was associated with several revolutionaries and political activists with branches in various parts of India and London.
India House:
● It
was founded by Shyamji Krishna Verma in
1905 in London.
● It was opened to promote nationalist views among Indian students in London.
Free India Society:
● It
was a political organization of Indian students in England, committed to
obtaining the independence of India from British rule.
● Initially an intellectual group, it became a revolutionary outfit under its founding leader, Madam Bhikaji Cama.
Hindu Mahasabha:
● It
was a political party formed in 1933.
● It
was founded by Veer Damodar Savarkar, LalaLajpat Rai, Madan Mohan Malviya.
● The
organisation was formed to protect the rights of the Hindu community, after the
formation of the All India Muslim League in 1906 and the British India
government’s creation of separate Muslim electorate under the Morley-Minto
reforms of 1909.